A Change of Pace
by Pandamoniam
Summary: Roleswap AU. It seemed that the continuation of the Caliosteo Cup relied on a vain hipster, a creepy rocker, and a ditsy hippie. Oh, and that weird green haired boy who liked pink that followed them around. Well, the tournament had been fun while it lasted...
1. Cowboys and Pteras

**Alright, not sure what I'm getting myself into writing this since I feel like no one will read this since it focuses on the BB Brigade (technically the Commanders specifically), buuuuut I'm gonna roll with it just because I really want to write this.**

**Basically, this is a roleswap AU, meaning that the Patrol Team and the BB Brigade Commanders will be switching roles. So the Patrol Team will consist of the BBB Commanders, and the BB Brigade will consist of the Patrol Team members. Got it? Hope you do.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fossil Fighters, but I partially own this idea. ShayminMarx has claims on the rest of the idea since they posted stuff about it first on tumblr, but I kinda went crazy with developing stuff for it. So yeah.**

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><p>Blue eyes begrudgingly bore into the back of a green head as the two hiked up the side of a mountain. The older, blue eyed teen was around fourteen with short, messy black hair. He was dressed mostly in a white coat with black flames around the edges, black and white skinny jeans, and tall lace-up boots. Red glasses with yellow-tinted lenses framed his less-than-pleased blue eyes.<p>

His smaller, younger companion of about twelve had green hair spiked up on his head with a patterned strip of fabric pulling it back out his bright hazel eyes. He was dressed in a navy blue jacket with no sleeves and large, brown work gloves over his hands. A belt with a golden dinosaur skull was around his waist holding up a pair of worn jeans. Black and brown riding boots with spurs adorning them covered his feet.

"Ryne, how much longer until we get there? My boots are filthy…" Cole, the older of the two, whined as he stopped for a moment to scrape his footwear off on a patch of grass. He looked up a moment later to see the bright-eyed boy dash back from wherever he had wandered off to, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth, as always, while a big grin stretched across his face

"Suck it up, you big baby," Ryne teased, his hands on his hips, "We're almost there. I just looked off the edge of that huge drop off, great view by the way, and there were nothing but trees for miles. So basically we've just got another ten minutes or so."

An exasperated groan came in response to the statement. Cole trudged up behind the boy, fingers gingerly plucking spiny briars from the coattails of his elongated jacket. Glancing over himself quickly, the gaudily dressed male removed several leaves from the chain hanging on the spiked choker on his neck, some burrs from his messy hair, and a twig wedged underneath one of his fingerless gloves.

Ryne patted him on the back, a smirk on his face. In comparison to his rather bedraggled companion, the green haired boy only had scuffs of dirt on his boots. And he definitely had more energy.

"Ah, come on! You can make it!"

A sharp blue glare was shot in his direction before Cole continued along the barely visible path ahead of them. Ryne sniggered and jogged after him, taking the lead once more. Ferns were jostled, moss was kicked up, and branches were snapped as the exuberant preteen charged up the hill, leaving his sluggish friend far behind.

Sure enough, about ten minutes passed and Ryne erupted into a clearing. He was bouncing up and down, hazel eyes staring at the place he emerged from. Eventually Cole shuffled out of the undergrowth, his hands brushing off assorted pieces of plant life.

"Why the heck did I come up here with you?" the black haired teen muttered as he closed the remaining distance between him and Ryne, "My clothes are getting wrecked, I'm gonna have to shower for weeks to get all the crud out of my hair, not to mention my poor boots…"

The green haired male laughed at this, getting yet another sour look. "You're such a wimp! We came up here to find Vivosaurs, remember?"

For just a brief moment, Cole considered beating Ryne senseless. They had climbed up a filthy, disgusting mountain for three hours to get Vivosaurs, when both of them knew he was getting one for his birthday. In two days. But the fact that he had willingly agreed to go with Ryne immediately shut down that plan. Well, that and blood was very hard to get out of white clothing. But it was mostly the former.

So, instead of yelling or pushing him over, Cole sighed and adjusted his glasses. "Yeah, whatever…"

Shock flashed over hazel orbs. "DID YOU FORGET WHAT A VIVOSAUR IS?!"

"No!"

"THEN WHY AREN'T YOU EXCITED?!"

"Because I just walked up the side of a mountain! I'm tired and dirty and-"

"GET EXCITED ABOUT SOMETHING OTHER THAN SALES ON SKINNY JEANS FOR ONCE!"

Brown, dirt smeared gloves wrapped around clean, white sleeves as Ryne shook Cole a few times. Eyes glanced down to where the items clenched fabric, then met for a brief second. The preteen tittered as he loosened up his grip and removed his hands from the premises. Cole brushed off the now-stained fabric to the best of his ability, mumbling a few unpleasant words under his breath.

"Anything else of mine you wanna wreck while we're up here?" Cole stated flatly, arms crossing and eyes narrowing. Ryne opened his mouth to shoot back a sarcastic reply, but was interrupted by the sound of snapping wood and rustling branches. Heads swiveled towards the sound as trees shook, creaked, and collapsed before their eyes. "…Well crud."

Ryne beamed as he dashed over to the spot where whatever was decimating the forest would emerge from. His eyes were huge and filled with excitement, and his body was practically shaking from anticipation. His older friend was frozen in place, eyes wide but focused on the area Ryne was staring down.

An elongated red body with a white underside emerged from the forest, its amber eyes burning hungrily as it glanced over the two boys. Black stripes were scattered over its body, and it stood at about twice Ryne's height. Said boy appeared to be gawking at the creature, his eyes shining.

Before the large reptile could lunge at Ryne, who was frozen in place, Cole rushed forward, grabbed his friend's wrist, and took off as fast as he could in the opposite direction of the beast. A booming roar resonated behind them as Cole dragged the still-gaping boy behind him.

"Hey, what're you doing?!" Ryne protested as his legs began to move. Despite his obvious dislike of their fleeing, he stayed next to Cole.

"I'm not dying!"

"But I want a Vivosaur!"

"I think that S-Raptor wants you, too! Just not as a Fighter!"

Dark claws dug into earth as massive legs propelled the 23 foot long S-Raptor after the duo. Its large maw filled with long teeth snapped forward, missing Cole by a couple of inches. The teen squeaked and sped up, though it was rather hard to do. It is, after all, difficult to run in skinny jeans.

Ryne picked up his own pace so that he was next to Cole again. The massive theropod seemed to have slowed its strides, so the pair lost sight of it quickly. However, the beast had noticed something the boys had failed to; the cliff up ahead.

Boot heels dug into the ground as the two skidded to a stop, eyes wide as they turned around to see the S-Raptor calmly stomping towards them. Its mouth had curved up into a wicked grin, eyes reflecting the fiery attacks this creature was capable of. Seeing that its prey was properly cornered, the Vivosaur tensed up, aiming its first bite carefully.

A sharp trill followed by a gust of wind buffeted the S-Raptor and sent it staggering backwards, momentarily disoriented. As Cole and Ryne tried to keep their balance while the wind tugged at them, a familiar voice yelled through the roaring currents, "Ya'll better hop on!"

Of course, the harsh winds stung the eyes, and made it nearly impossible to see whoever had shouted to them. However, as Cole squinted and made out a yellow blob, he could make a pretty good guess at who it was. Grabbing ahold of Ryne once again, the teen ran and jumped off the ledge, hoping that a furry reptile would swoop down and catch them.

Another trill and a holler confirmed his guess, and a solid, warm body was soon beneath him. Allowing his eyes to opening, Cole took in his surroundings. The furry body of a powerful Ptera suspended him in the air, each maneuver it made sending jerks through its muscles which caused Cole to cringe awkwardly each time he felt one. Seated in front of him was a man dressed mainly in brown and black, a cowboy hat with horns seated atop his brunet hair.

Leaning over slightly, Cole smirked as he saw his green haired friend dangling from the powerful creature's beak. Granted, Ryne was probably having the time of his life, but at least he wasn't taking up space atop the Ptera's back

The man in front of him, probably in his twenties, turned towards him and grinned, relieved to find his Vivosaur had safely caught the teen. Cole waved, not sure what to say at this point.

"Are you folks alright?" he inquired, then faced forward again to steer his large Vivosaur.

The yellow creature elegantly lighted to the ground, its wings folding inwards at the last second as to let its feet sink into solid earth. Gently lowering its head, the Ptera placed Ryne on the ground. Legs crouched afterwards, allowing its two passengers to slide off. With a happy trill, the blue eyed beast nuzzled against its Fighter, glad to see it had done a good job.

"Hey, Joe," Cole began awkwardly, glancing up at the young man. Perplexed, the brown clad Fossil Fighters raised an eye.

"Er, howdy to you, too. But, uh, how'd ya know my handle, kid?" the man asked, a bit surprised at the boy's outright informality. Cole never got to responding, though, as an excited Ryne shoved him to the side, eyes wide and energetic.

"YOU'RE JOE _FREAKING_ WILDWEST! HOW WOULD WE NOT KNOW WHO YOU ARE!?" he squealed, jumping up and down as he yelled. Joe smiled and rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a bit embarrassed at the attention.

"Well, I s'pose that's true, but-"

Before Joe could finish his thought, Ryne shot over to where the brightly colored Ptera sat, its dark blue eyes watching him with great interest. "And this is your Ptera, Jesse! She's even cooler in person!"

As the green haired boy continued to geek over the large Pterosaur, Cole moved back to his spot next to Joe. His friend seemed to be preoccupied, so it appeared to be most productive to make small chat with the older male.

"Is he usually this… rowdy?" the brunet asked, a bit stunned. Cole snickered, hands sliding into the pockets of his dirtied white coat.

"Pretty much. You get used to it, though." His gaze flashed to Joe for a moment. "And to answer your question from earlier, I hear about you from my dad a lot."

"Yer pa?"

"Yeah. His name's Roth. Got the weird turquoise hair and out-of-style hoodie."

"Oh! Ya mean-"

_GROOOOOAAAAAHHRRRR!_

The short conversation was cut off as a deafening roar blasted through the air. The sleek body of the S-Raptor from before flashed along like a huge tiger. Just watching it charge made it clear how enraged the brute was.

"That lil' bugger is madder'n a sack full'a hornets!" Joe exclaimed, a bit nervous as he took note of how much energy it had. Jesse wasn't the largest Ptera in the world, and three people greatly exceeded her own weight. She was probably too tired to engage in a Fossil Battle, albeit with a weaker one like an S-Raptor.

"W-what's that mean for us?" Cole whimpered, legs shaking a little bit. While his friend appeared to be eager to see the approaching streak of red and black, the only thing the teen could think of was how tired the flying reptile behind him could be.

"It means we gotta subdue the critter in a Fossil Battle!" the cowboy replied, reaching into the large pockets of his elongated coat and removing a single golden circle trimmed with blue and white. He turned around to face the two boys, one of which looked psyched beyond belief, the other slightly pale and quaking.

"Ooh! Ooh! Pick me!" Ryne shouted, his eyes locked on the Dino Medal that Joe had retrieved. Instead of flicking the item to the hyper preteen, the young man sent it over to Cole, who caught it in shaky hands.

"Sorry, small fries-" tittering escaped Joe's lips, leaving Cole glowering at him "-but if Roth's his pa, then that Medal is his. Some sorta birthday present. I was s'posed to drop it off when I passed through here."

"Aww…"

The greyscale clad teen sighed and sluggishly shuffled forward, blue eyes clouded with worry. As much as he had wanted a Vivosaur for his birthday, fighting a killer S-Raptor was really not worth getting it early. Said reptile was almost to them, its heavy steps shaking the ground.

Uncurling his fingers from the metal object, Cole examined it quickly to find the shape of a Pliosaur curled comfortably on its surface. The item was cool to the touch, and the Vivosaur's image calming to look at. It was quite… pleasant.

_"Well, might as well get this over with."_

Tossing the Medal lightly into the air, all eyes watched as in a burst of light a slithering creature floated to the ground. Hovering with swan-like elegance was a sea blue creature speckled with incredibly light blue dots over its top. Its underside was a pure white, the only break in it allowing a navy blue ring edged in gold to encircle its neck. Fins stretched out from its slightly pudgy body like wings, and golden patterns etched across them enhanced this look.

An excited trill escaped the Medium sized piscivore as it energetically darted in front of the S-Raptor, forcing the bulky creature to slide to a stop. It seemed to recognize that it was to partake in combat, and the two began circling each other cautiously.

Golden eyes flicked back to Cole, a smile twitching on the aquatic Vivosaur's maw. _"Hey, buddy! Nice to meetcha! I'm your Plesio!" _A cheery voice sang, penetrating the teen's mind and making him flinch.

_ "Alright-y then. Kinda forgot Vivosaurs can do this…"_

_ "Good. I like freaking people out." _Trilling giggles escaped from the Plesio's throat, drawing out perplexed expressions from his opponent. It seemed that the S-Raptor was growing tired of waiting to fight. Strange that a wild Vivosaur would still be confined to the rules of Fossil Battles. _"Well, you gonna make me attack this guy? Or are we gonna pass?"_

"COLE! MAKE HIM ATTACK!" Ryne interjected from the sidelines, earning a glare from the teen. As he turned back to the battle, he began sifting through attacks he had seen Vivosaurs use before. Normally Fighters had special thing-ies for their wrist which had all the information for theirs and their opponent's Vivosaurs on it, but since they were in the middle of nowhere…

"Use Darting… uh… something!" Lowering his head so that he was in a stream-lined position, the young Plesio shot forward, body jetting rapidly through the air and zig-zagging as he closed in on the S-Raptor. Once he had reached the creature, his body twisted and his main bulk slammed into it.

Staggering to the side, the striped beast shook itself, almost as if it had been drenched by the Plesio's attack. With rage lighting up its amber eyes like coals, it charge forward and sank sharp fangs into speckled neck. Pain-filled trills left the Plesiosaur's mouth as it struggled to break free.

For a brief moment, Cole could have sworn he felt some kind of stinging sensation on the back of his neck, like he'd missed a burr earlier. He checked the spot briefly and, upon finding no spikey pod, shrugged it off. It was probably nothing.

A growl left his Plesio's throat and soon small yet needle-like teeth had sunk into the S-Raptor's neck. Its grip loosened as it howled in pain, leaving a big enough opening for the smaller reptile to slither away. His lower neck showed clear puncture wounds.

_"Ow. Ow ow ow,"_ the speckled Water Vivosaur whined in a slightly sing-song voice. His golden orbs glanced back at his new Fighter, pain reflected in them. _"I'm dying here, bro. You're gonna have to try harder."_

_ "Err… Right."_

There was another attack Plesios knew, right? Well, if he was a high enough level he would have it. The only problem was the lack of prior knowledge on Plesios. His older sister had a Dimorph, which was the type of Vivosaur he had been expecting to receive. Well, it seemed like Plesio knew poison skills.

"Uh… Something with Poison in it, right?" Cole mumbled, feeling a bit weird as he said it. Almost as if the attack had some effect on him.

Immediately a cloudy sheen overtook the delicate Vivosaur, his golden eyes downgrading to a murky yellow. Muscles tensed, body straightened, and soon he was rocketing forward. The Plesio's body twisted like a torpedo, slamming his full half-ton of body weight into the Fire Vivosaurs side. Claws dug into the earth as the biped slid back, trying its best to keep its balance.

With a grin on his face, the Plesio U-turned and floated back towards Cole. He broke out in giggles, his attention completely off the battle. _"There we go, all done!"_

Giant feet dug at the ground as the S-Raptor charged its speckled foe.

"But it's running right at you!"

A savage roar pierced the air.

_"Relax~!"_

And a large body slammed to the earth, disappearing into a Dino Medals seconds later. The smirk on the Plesio's face widened as he watched Joe approach the golden piece and pocket it.

_"It was Poisoned! I nailed it!"_ he laughed freely, nudging Cole a few times with his elongated head. The teen blinked a few times, still trying to comprehend exactly what had happened. Letting a relieved sigh, he decided to roll with it. A golden Medal plopped into his hand, which was shoved into one of the pockets on his coat.

"Good job, kiddo!" Joe grinned, coming up beside Cole and patting him on the back a few times. The black haired male could only wince as he thought about the dirt Joe's gloves were putting on his coat. He wouldn't be surprised if the poor thing was stained beyond cleansing after this whole ordeal. "You calmed down that big Dino no problem!"

"I could've done it faster," Ryne grumbled, a teasing glint in his gaze. Cole rolled his eyes, unimpressed.

"Sure, Ryne. Just remember that when I'm using this slick Plesio later."

Before the slight disturbance between the two could escalate, Joe placed a hand on each of their shoulders, drawing their attention to him. "Well, I reckon I better go take this S-Raptor back to the Fighters Association. They can get this feller a brand new Fighter, one that'll actually take care a' it."

Hands slid off of shoulders, and the man began to walk over towards his Ptera. He paused mid-step, a hand slapping up to his forehead.

"Aw, shucks! Where are my manners?" The cowboy turned back to face the boys, an apologetic look on his face. "Ya'll know who I am, but I don't know who ya'll are."

"I'm Ryne!" said boy piped up first, hazel eyes lighting up. "Ryne Reilly!"

"And I'm Cole Sukaru," the older male stated indifferently, feeling a bit tired all of a sudden.

"We always, always, _always_ cheer for you!" Ryne added, beginning to bounce from foot to foot. Joe chuckled and ruffled the peppy preteens spiked up hair. "You're the best Fighter ever! Even better than my dad! I wanna be as good as you when I get my Vivosaur! Just, uh, don't tell my dad…"

"Well shucks, you small fries are makin' me blush!" Joe grinned, his cheeks tinting lightly. Cole could feel the warm bubbles of his Plesio's high-pitched laughter fill his chest. Apparently a red-faced celebrity was quite hilarious to him. "But y'all oughta aim a little higher than my level. Try to get _better _than me – that'll get ya' places!"

Ryne looked as though he was going to pass out from sheer excitement at this point. His older friend couldn't help but break out in snickers, as much as he tried to resist. Luckily it seemed that his giggles broke Ryne out of his trance and snapped him back to his senses. Or at least, what was left of them.

"Well, I s'pose I oughta take you two home…" the brunet sighed, glancing at the watch on his wrist. "I've got places to get to yet, and 'bout a half hour to get to 'em. Think you two can make it back without me?"

"Sure! We got her just fine, and since Cole's got that Plesio we should get back alright," Ryne assured him, shooting the cowboy a thumbs-up. "I mean, we'd probably be better off if you gave me that S-Raptor-"

"You don't need it, Ryne," Cole interrupted, yanking him backwards lightly by the collar of his jacket. Ryne rubbed his neck despite the lack of pain, still smiling at Joe.

"Well, guess this is it, small fries," he grinned, turning slightly towards Jesse as he spoke, "I look forward to the day y'all are full-fledged Fossil Fighters, and that Plesio 'a yours is fully trained. 'Till then, remember to love yer Vivosaurs like family and support them as well as ya' can in Fossil Battles."

Jesse let out an impatient cry, reminding her Fighter that they needed to get moving. Shooting one last grin at the two boys, Joe turned and jogged up to his Vivosaur, mounting her back swiftly. Pushing off the ground with her front legs, the Ptera launched herself forward, flapped a couple of times to gain altitude, and soon began gliding away with Ryne waving after her.

"Adios!" Joe shouted as Jesse soared into the distance. Soon she was nothing more than a yellow blotch on the horizon.

"Dude."

"What?" Cole whined, his body slouching over slightly. It seemed the fatigue from the Fossil Battle and mountain hiking had finally caught up with him, and he felt like collapsing.

"We just got advice from Joe Wildwest."

"Yep."

"JOE. WILD. WEST."

"That's his name."

"WE'VE GOTTA BECOME AWESOME FOSSIL FIGHTERS NOW!" Ryne shouted, grabbing Cole and shaking him again. At this point, his friend was too tired to care about stains, and just groaned instead until he was finished. "THIS IS LITERALLY NOT A CHOICE!"

"Okay. Can we go home now?"

"Oh, yeah. Sure."

Ryne immediately took the lead, running full tilt into the woods, leaving his tired friend in his wake. Cole sighed and began his sluggish pace after him, not caring if he was left behind at this point.

_"Aww… Is somebody tired?"_ the teasing voice of his new Vivosaur rattled around in his brain, leaving his head sore.

_ "Shut up… Uh… What's your name?"_

_ "I don't have one. Can you give me one?"_

Cole paused for a moment, thinking the matter over. Everyone he knew named their Vivosaurs, so it would only make sense for him to do the same. There was only the problem of actually thinking one up. Something interesting, not used to death, and over all just really slick.

_"Does Loch sound all right to you?"_

_ "Sure! I like that! Loch. Sounds mysteeeeeerious~."_

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><p><strong>WELL. UM. <strong>

**I really hope you guys liked this. Sure, it might be kind of weird to process at first, but maybe it'll grow on you…? Please?**

**So, brief explanation as to who Ryne is for those who missed that Bonus Data event. Basically, if you got Fossil Fighters Champions and downloaded special content off the Internet (kind of like Mystery Gift in Pokemon), you could get this event where a green haired kid in a pink BB Brigade goon outfit would come and, eventually, give you Salada, a special Boneysaur. Well, I recently got the Manga he was from, and since he was a pretty good friends with Cole in that, he is now friends with him in this.**

**Hopefully I can get the next chapter done in a timely manner. I've got a snow day tomorrow, so we'll see. In the meantime, please leave a review! They motivate me! :)**


	2. Dirty Gloves and Traveling

**Holy smokes, you guys actually like this. Thank you so much if you reviewed/put this on follow or favorite! I wasn't sure how warm of a welcome I'd get, but man, it's like a furnace. X3 Basically you all rock.**

**Oh, and special thanks to my little sis, EchoShade, for reading through most of this and letting me know how it flowed. Even though I had to pester her for like 20 minutes to get her to do so. XD**

**Anyways, I don't own Fossil Fighters. Let's do this.**

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><p>Soft, trilling snores filled the air as an elongated blue creature snoozed soundly atop the navy blue covers of a bed. Its body was twisted so that it encircled the sleeping form of a sixteen-year-old boy, his Fighter, Cole. Soon, the snores turned to snorts as his eyes began to flutter open, neck slowly rising off of the bed.<p>

Loch's golden eyes surveyed the room, checking to make sure everything was in its place. The nightstand, desk with the computer, assorted books neatly stacked on said desk; it seemed that everything was in order. Giving a satisfied nod, the Plesio floated off of the bed and over to the small calendar on the desk. He angled his head so that one of his eyes could take it in. According to the red X's on the dates leading up to a single circled one, something good was supposed to happen today.

_"Cole~! Rise and shine~!" _the speckled Vivosaur sang, nudging the teen with his snout. All he received were muffled groans and something about beauty sleep as the black haired boy rolled away from him. _"Aww, come on! Don't be like that."_

Blue blankets were yanked over Cole's head, shutting Loch out. A bit annoyed now, the Plesio dug his teeth into one end of the comforter and, with a jerk of his neck, ripped it off. His Fighter let out stunned yelp as he curled into a ball to stay warm.

"Darn it, Loch!" the teen exclaimed, uncurling just enough to glare at the speckled Vivosaur. High-pitched giggles echoed from said creature, his jaw loosening up and allowing the blanket in his mouth to drop to the floor. Two pairs of eyes flashed to the object before Cole groaned and slid out of bed, picking it up.

A smug blue expression taunted him as he carefully spread it back over his bed, taking extra care to ensure there were no wrinkles in it. Satisfied with his work, the hipster turned and walked over to his desk. He fiddled around with a few things, checking his phone for any texts or the like and skimming over the calendar. A quick flick of his finger to the current date acknowledged that he was aware of its importance.

_"So, what's going on today?"_ Loch inquired a he flashed back into a Dino Medal, falling on the wooden nightstand with a soft _clink_. Cole shuffled past him rubbing groggy blue eyes as he headed into his closet, coming out a second later with his beloved white coat.

_"We're going to the Caliosteo Islands, you idiot,"_ the black haired teen responded flatly as he pulled a black t-shirt with white trimming around the neck over his head. Following that were his black and white pants, then his jacket. He fumbled the zipper for a moment, fingers clumsy from having yet to awaken fully.

Picking up Loch's Medal and slipping it into his pocket as he passed by, Cole cautiously peered out the door of his room. No one was in the hall. Not much noise. Perfect.

A quick jog down the hallway took him to the bathroom, where he spiked up his already messy hair. Shooting a flirtatious look into the mirror, he pivoted around on his bare heel and began the trek to the living room. It wasn't long before Loch's incessant chattering picked up again.

_"How much longer 'till we leave? 'Cause I'm super pumped to be in a tournament!"_

An annoyed groan and the roll of eyes.

_"I don't know, after breakfast sometime? It'll be time eventually, that's all that matters."_

_ "After breakfast?! UGH! That's like another two hours!"_

A slight smirk twitched on to Cole's face as Loch broke out in whines. Truthfully he was a bit obnoxious, but it was better than listening to him singing something to pass time. That was excruciating.

Moments later Loch was seated next to him on the living room couch, his speckled body much smaller than before, flipping through channels on the wide screen TV. With a yawn, the Plesio rested his chin on Cole's knee, golden eyes lazily staring at the colorful images. His flipper slapped at the remote randomly until he was bored. Soon he was prodding at Cole with his elongated snout, grinning as he watched the look of displeasure deepen the longer he kept it up.

In the two years he had owned Loch, Cole had yet to build up a resistance to the constant pestering from his friend. His fingers twitched as he attempted to suppress the urge to reach over and strangle the blue creature. It seemed that the shrunken Vivosaur could sense this, though, and the disturbance continued.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of poking, the announcement came and interrupted the obnoxious Plesio. "Cole! Time to get moving!"

Loch jetted away to the kitchen, his high-pitched trills reverberating throughout the large house. The black haired teen followed after with much less vigor. He was still rather tired after being awoken by his partner earlier than normal.

Upon entering the dining room, he was greeted by the sight of Loch happily munching on anchovies from a can whilst seated at the table. Gagging slightly at the smell, Cole went around the blue-scaled reptile and into the kitchen. Seconds later a biscuit, a jar of strawberry jam, and a knife were thrust into his clutches, followed by hands shoving against his back and towards the living room.

"Where have you been? I told you to be ready to go by now!" a woman's voice scolded him, giving him one last push towards his boots seated next to the couch he had been at earlier. He blinked a couple of times, failing to recall the conversation she was referring to, and shrugged.

"Sorry, Mom…" Cole mumbled, sitting down and beginning to go through the long and monotonous process of tying his beloved footwear. He could hear her sigh and her shoe tap impatiently on the tile. Soon the last tie was made and he was back on his feet, blue eyes meeting green.

His mother was fairly tall – still a bit taller than he was (though he was pretty sure next growth spurt he'd overcome that). She was in her mid-forties, emerald eyes just as bright as when she was much younger. Her hair was the same shade as his, but much longer and tied back into a braid. Judging by her loose grey t-shirt and denim capris, it seemed that she hadn't been planning on leaving the house with him.

"Sorry isn't gonna cut it," she replied, sounding a bit aggravated. "You take your own sweet time doing everything. So move it!"

"Alright, alright! Sheesh!" the black haired teen groaned, turning and heading towards the door. "Loch! We're being kicked out! Come on!"

A trilling whine, followed by a flash of blue and white left a golden circle in the palm of his hand. Pocketing it, Cole picked up his makeshift breakfast and took a bite out of the biscuit. It was kind of cold. His face scrunched up slightly out of disgust

"It wouldn't be cold if you'd gotten ready when I asked you to," his mother sighed, shaking her head. As much as Cole wanted to say something about not being called when the biscuits first got done, he decided against it. She was much harder to deal with when angered.

"Well, I should probably get going," Cole stated after swallowing. He nodded to his mother and opened the door, ready to go.

"Err, hold on a second!" Before he knew it, the young hipster was pivoted around and pulled into a hug. Despite the only other person, technically Vivosaur, actually there being a rather cheeky Plesio, he still felt rather embarrassed.

"Don't die. Stay out of trouble. Got it?" A brisk nod to move things along. "Great. Love you."

"Good bye, mom…"

"If you see your dad, say 'hi' for me!"

"Alright, I will."

The door was almost shut.

"Do you have your stuff?"

A frustrated groan.

"Dad sent it ahead."

"Oh yeah…"

"Mom, I'm leaving. Good bye."

"Alright, alright. Get out of here."

Finally he managed to make it out, Loch's sniggering echoing playfully through his skull. Cole let out a relieved sigh as he turned and began to stroll down the side walk. Time to get to Ryne's house.

_"Never thought I'd see the day your mom got clingy," _the speckled Vivosaur giggled, his eyes giddily flashing through his Fighter's mind. _"Then again, you are her wittle baby~."_

_ "Shut up, bro,"_ the teen grumbled back mentally, cheeks lightly tinting red. Sure he was the youngest out of a whopping two kids – that didn't mean much.

_"She just can't bear seeing her Cole-y wole-y leaving the house all by himself."_

_ "I'm warning you."_

Chittering laughter encased his mind in seconds, making him cringe. It was quite painful, actually. Sort of like nails on a chalkboard. And the headache coming from it was unreal…

Deciding that he would rather listen to Ryne over the banshee-like shrieks Loch made when he was overly entertained, Cole took off running past the remaining houses leading up to Ryne's. Turning up the dirt path and jogging up into the small woodland area it was in, he reached the front door before he even had a chance to catch his breath. At least his Plesio was silent now.

A gloved hand reached up to knock, but was cut off by the door being yanked open. There stood Ryne, eyes as huge as ever, tongue still sticking out of the corner of his mouth, body still shaking like a Chihuahua since he was excited. Really the only thing different about him ever was that occasionally he got taller. And his hair grew longer. But that wasn't very noticeable.

"Dude! Where the heck have you been?!" he exclaimed, practically leaping out the door as he slammed it behind him. Cole took a step back, slightly intimidated by the amount of energy being exerted in front of him.

"Well… You know, stuff." Because if Ryne knew he'd been lollygagging…

"Whatever! Let's get going!" Dirty fabric wrapped around Cole's wrist and yanked him behind his energetic friend. Blue eyes locked on where Ryne's large gloves had come in contact with the pure white of his jacket. It would be brown by the time he let go…

Eventually they were down the sidewalk and to a field about a mile away from Ryne's house. As nice as it would have been to just collapse in the warm, green grass, Cole resisted the urge. Grass stains were not worth his comfort. Nope. Not on his clean clothing. Taking a moment too readjust his hair to its normal amount of messiness, the teen met up with his younger friend who was standing a few feet away.

For the first time, Cole noticed the large helicopter Ryne had been gawking at. It was a metallic blue all over with streaks of silver across its iron hide. Passing by his green haired friend, not nearly as impressed, the teen climbed into the back and slid into a random seat. He could make out the driver's reddish brown hair and the blue sleeves of his uniform, but nothing really defining. With a shrug, he leaned back and put his feet up on the seat in front of him.

With a few impatient shouts from the pilot aimed at Ryne, the enthralled teen jumped in and slipped in beside Cole. He grinned, boots kicking at air excited, as the propellers began to spin and the machine began to quiver as it fought to level out off of the ground. By now the older of the two was used to helicopter rides, so the rocking did not send him into a panic attack anymore. Ryne had never been bothered by it, and was cheering quite loudly.

Eventually the thrill of taking off ended, and with it Ryne's yelling. Soon an awkward silence had settled in its absence, allowing Cole a few minutes to doze off. Which, Ryne being Ryne, was clearly not allowed.

"Hey, Cole! Did I ever show you the Vivo my dad got me?" Eyes shone with excitement as he pulled a green and white trimmed Medal from his pocket, holding it up for his friend to examine. Azure orbs creaked open enough to glance at it, then slid shut almost instantly.

"Yeah, that's pretty nice, bro," Cole mumbled, trying his best to discourage the imminent conversation. However, his friend was almost impossible to get down, so…

The younger boy's smile edged with pride as he tossed the circle a few times in his gloved hand. "It's a Paraloph! He's _really_ powerful! Kind of like Lazer, but _way_ cooler! His attacks take less FP than hers, and…"

As Ryne continued to ramble about his new Vivosaur, Cole found himself drifting off to sleep. Getting up an hour earlier, even if he didn't get ready like he was supposed to, really screwed up his sleep schedule. Oh well. He'd fix it up on the flight.

Breathing slowed for what felt like seconds before his eyes shot open at the sound of squealing. Cringing and searching for the source simultaneously, Cole found himself being leaned over by Ryne, who was staring out the window. And making that noise.

Considering who he was dealing with, the black haired teen just lay on the seat and waited for his friend to get off of him. When the hazel eyed boy failed to move, a quick shove to his legs let Cole move out and brush himself off. Ryne was just as filthy as ever.

_"COLE! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" _Loch's voice penetrated his mind, dripping with the same eagerness of Ryne. _"WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO WAKE YOU UP! THE CALIOSTEO ISLANDS ARE IN SIGHT! WE'RE ALMOST THERE!"_

Cole's hand clenched the side of his head as he groaned, the pain from his partner's screaming giving him yet another headache. It was like having someone yell in your ear, but with no way to block it out. _"Wait, what do you mean 'we'? Who else is involved in your horrible plan?"_

_ "Sam! We were trying to see if he could contact you, buuuuuut I don't think it worked,"_ the Plesio tittered, sending waves of good-natured feelings to his Fighter. Despite the slight irritation building up inside of him, Cole smiled weakly from the emotions. Even though he had no idea who Sam was.

_"Uh, and Sam's Ryne's Paraloph. I'm like 99% sure you were asleep when he said that."_

And this was precisely why he rarely listened to Ryne when he was tired – Loch filled him in later. Nodding briefly, the hipster turned and took in the sight of his friend practically pressing his face against the window. Incomprehensible words streamed out of his mouth in bursts of energy, making it sound a lot like some lunatic was babbling away in the back seats. Which wasn't that far from the truth.

Finally an actual sentence. "COLE! WE'RE GONNA BE FOSSIL FIGHTERS!"

"I know."

"AND I'M GONNA KICK YOUR BUTT!"

"Wait a minute, Ryne-"

"SAM'S GONNA PUNCH YOUR LITTLE PLESIO THROUGH A WALL!"

"Calm dow-"

"IT'S GONNA BE EPI-"

An interrupting shout from the pilot. "WOULD YOU SIT DOWN AND BE QUIET SO I CAN CONCENTRATE?!" Ryne blinked a couple of times, then sat down next to his older friend. He was still quaking due to pure energy. Cole shifted away from him, unsure of how safe he was next to such an unstable person.

The helicopter lurched as it came in for a landing, sending mildly concerned trembles through Cole's body. Of course, he wasn't scared of take offs or flying. Just landings now. Fingers dug into the smooth material of the seats as he tried to ignore the dread beginning to fill his very being. Soon the metal props scraped against the ground, and the shaking of the machine stopped. A relieved sigh escaped his lips.

_"You're such a baby, bro."_

_ "Loch, I freaking swear-"_

"See you later, slowpoke!" Ryne shouted, cutting off Cole and Loch's conversation as he darted out the now open door of the copter. After registering what had just happened in his brain, the black and white clad teen let out a surprised yelp and ran out after him, boots hitting pavement as he jumped down. He staggered around for a moment, regaining his bearings, and scrutinized the area for Ryne.

Luckily he managed to catch a glimpse of blue and green as his friend entered a large, dome-shaped building directly in front of him. Groaning, Cole jogged up to the structure, slowing down to walk through the automatic sliding doors. Sure enough, there was Ryne, chatting with the receptionist eagerly.

As he strolled up next to the exuberant boy, blue eyes took a moment to overview the room. There was a lot of red and blue with a bunch of hallways and staircases. Potted plants were placed on either sides of any and all doorframes, and the occasional Fossil Fighter could be seen talking around the room.

His focus returned to Ryne, who was waving him over. Assuming that he was not being messed with, Cole took the last few steps and stopped directly in front of the counter. The receptionist, brunette and clad in red (did the people here have a fetish…?), smiled at him with forced eagerness.

"Hello! You're here to sign up, correct?" she chirped, voice cracking. Clearly she had been at this all day, and her cheeriness was beginning to fade. Cole gave a brisk nod, hoping to move things along smoothly for her. "Great! What's your name?"

"Cole Sukaru." Her brown eyes inspected a list she had in front of her, pen tapping the name a few times once she had located it. Without missing a beat she pulled upon a drawer to her side, sifted through a file labeled 'S', and withdrew a small card and watch. She placed both items in front of him after a brief inspection, and nodded to herself.

"Alright, that's your Fighter's License and the gear that comes with it," the brunette explained as Cole picked up the card, glanced at it briefly, and put it in his pocket next to Loch's Medal. The watch-like item caught his attention, though, and he looked it over carefully. "That's the thing that most Fossil Fighters wear on their wrist during Fossil Battles. When in use, it displays an image with stats, attacks, and the like."

Immediately Cole felt his face heat up out of embarrassment. Of course that's what it was. He had seen his dad's almost a million times. Well, his was tricked out and hardly resembled the simple grey and black model currently resting in his palm, but still. Common sense stuff. Wanting to avoid further humiliation, the teen pivoted around on his heel and headed over to where Ryne had wandered off to.

In the five minutes he had taken to get signed in, Ryne had found yet another person to talk to. Rolling his eyes, Cole quickly slipped the watch-like object over his wrist and joined his friend. He was speaking to a young woman, probably in her mid-twenties, with long, curly brown hair tied into a ponytail which hung over her shoulder. Brown eyes peeked out from underneath her blue and white visor, and yellow, aqua, and green was scattered over her entire uniform.

Hazel eyes glanced to the side and met bored blue. "Oh, hey, Cole! I was just talking to Stella here! She's the staff leader here, by the way," Ryne grinned, his tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth. "Anyways, she says she can take us on a tour of the facilities. Show us the ropes. You in?"

"Eh…" Cole cringed mid-reply as Loch began screaming something about needing to head outside, and that tours were for the weak. A bit confused, but also slightly relieved, the teen shook his head. "Yeah, I think I'll pass. Isn't there something going on outside…?"

"Well, the opening ceremony should be starting soon," Stella replied, smiling at him. Everyone did that a lot here. If he could find one person not constantly smiling, things would get infinitely better. Still, Cole nodded and turned around.

"…Exactly. So I'm gonna go do that, and you can go walk through here."

"But we're gonna clean fossils, bro!"

A shudder ran down Cole's spine. He didn't mind Fossil Fighting. Nothing was wrong with training and all that good stuff. But digging and cleaning fossils was just awful. All that dirt and physical labor left him a mess.

"I think I'll pass."

Boots clunked against the floor as he ambled out the front door, surprised at the sudden crowd in front of the Fighter Station. Still, it beat having to get dust all over his clean white coat. Even if being in close proximity with such unhip people was painful.

He took a few steps forward, putting some room between him and the large building. He was not sure what was supposed to happen since there wasn't a stage anywhere. Or at least, he hadn't spotted one yet. Feet shifted as Cole looked all around him, still failing to find any sort of elevated structure.

_"Man, for an opening ceremony, this is kinda lame," _Loch grumbled, disappointment emanating from within his Medal. Cole was too stunned by his partner's pessimistic behavior to reply. _"Err, not to be the downer of the two of us, but I was expecting a little bit more… pizazz from something Joe was pulling off."_

A thoughtful look appeared on his Fighter's countenance. _"Yeah, an excited mob _does_ seem a little out of place. I mean, you remember when-"_

Excited screeches and the roaring of helicopter blades filled the air. Attention captured, Cole turned around and blinked a couple of times, shocked at the machine now hovering in the air. A giant TV with a propeller on top of it and huge speakers on the front.

_"Oop. There it is," _his Plesio grinned, his normal, cheerful self returning. The previously dark screen flashed to life, an image of none other than Joe Wildwest appearing. The cheering increased ten-fold.

"Welcome to the Caliosteo Fossil Park!" Joe's enthusiastic voice boomed from the yellow speakers. "The place where dreams are made!"

_"YEAH! I like dreams!"_ Loch cheered, joy radiating from his being. Cole cracked a grin, but it was mostly from his Plesio. That stupid speckle-y Vivosaur was like a happiness magnet.

"Pst! Cole!" Fingers tugged at his crisp, white sleeve. He could practically feel the dirt embedding in it.

"Ryne! Stop touching me with your filthy gloves!" Cole whined, swatting away his green haired friend's hands. A few choice words were muttered under his breath as dirty spots were wiped at. "What do you want? Can't you see there's a thing going on?"

Grinning and bright hazel eyes responded to his question. "Stella said to give you this." His left hand reached up and dropped a bright red walkie-talkie type thing into Cole's grasp. Blue eyes stared at it blankly.

"Ugh. What is this hideous thing?" the hipster gagged, holding the device away from him with two fingers. "The colors look awful. Why are you assaulting my eyes with it?"

"It's called a Paleopager. Stella says they let us know important stuff."

"Does it come in black and white?"

"I didn't ask, but I doubt they do."

A trilling whine invaded Cole's thoughts, preventing his own complaining from continuing. He didn't even have time to say something in response to said trill, though, because an even louder one followed it.

_"Shut uuuuuuuup! I wanna hear Joe!"_ Loch howled, snorting afterwards for emphasis. Reminded that something of importance was actually occurring, Cole turned back towards the screen. Ryne seemed to notice it for the first time, and directed his wide-eyed gaze in that direction.

"-you'll own 'er free and clear!" Joe grinned, finishing some statement the two had missed. As the crowd burst with excitement, the pair glanced around awkwardly, hoping someone would say something about what he had just said.

"So let's get to battlin', folks! The Caliosteo Cup is now… OPEN!"

_"Great job, guys. We are missing out on something free and female. I hope you're happy."_ Cole could feel Loch trying his hardest to stay mad, but slowly tiny bubbles of happiness would pop up, and little giggles would leave his scowling maw. Which was pretty entertaining.

"Hey, Ryne. Cole."

Cole sighed, turning slightly if only to be polite. Ryne bounced over to the newcomer, none other than Stella, and smiled.

"Hi, Stella! What's up?"

Judging by the slightly confused look in her brown eyes, she seemed to be wondering the same thing.

"Oh, nothing much. I was just thinking about what Joe said. You know, the whole thing about giving away the park to the winner of the Cup," the brunette replied, drawing an absolutely dumbfound expression to appear on Ryne's face. His older friend cringed. He was getting _that_ look. That bad, bad, bad look.

"HE'S GIVING AWAY THE PARK?!" Ryne squealed, jumping up and down in place. Stella took a cautious step away from the blue clad boy, not sure where he was going with this.

"Apparently so…" Her voice trailed off, eyes glancing to the side briefly. She shook her head, seemingly to help her focus, and returned to smiling warmly at the peppy teen in front of her. "Anyways, why aren't you two out digging fossils? There's an open dig site now."

Paleopagers beeped loudly, almost as if on cue. Cole glared at the brightly colored device before begrudgingly moving it close enough to his ear to hear it.

"The first dig site, Treasure Lake, has opened. Fighters are urged to travel there and ready for Round 1 of the Cup."

_"Dude. Did that thing just say 'lake'?"_ Loch inquired, and the perfect image of golden eyes lighting up popped into his Fighter's mind. The black haired teen nodded slowly._ "HECK YEAH! I haven't swum in a natural water source in ages! Let's move!" _And just like that, he felt entitled to move.

Ryne was the first to get going, grabbing Cole's wrist in a brown glove. He shot Stella a thumbs-up and peeked back at the older teen quickly. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go dig up some fossils!"

_"AND SWIM! SWIMSWIMSWIM!"_

The sound of clunking boots filled the air as the shorter boy took off in a mad dash towards Treasure Lake, Cole in tow.

* * *

><p><strong>Alright, hopefully this is acceptable to you guys. I wanna just jump into the fighting and stuff, but there's all this opening stuff that has to be there. And, you know, plot. XD<strong>

**Oh, and just a little thing to point out in case you were confused, the 'Lazer' mentioned during the brief segment on Sam is a Vivosaur. Not saying what kind, but she'd a Vivo.**

**Well, I'm going to try to work extra hard on this to get a bunch done in time for Fossil Fighters: Frontier in March. I kinda want to write a thing for that game, so I figured that this needs to be done or like a few chapters from done to do so. I'm such an eager beaver. XD**

**Anyways, leave a review if you'd like. I'd appreciate it! ;)**


	3. Gem Stones and Battles

**Wow. And I'm once again amazed by you guys. So many happy reviews. X3 Thank you all so much! I do want to say how much I've enjoyed reading through them. Your predictions are making me happy. As in, you actually care enough about this to make them. I just… X3X3X3**

**Aaaaaanyways, I don't own Fossil Fighters. Let's a go!**

* * *

><p>Ecstatic trilling and shimmering water droplets scattered through air as an elongated speckled neck erupted from the water. Golden eyes shone with glee as Loch dove back into the water and jetted around, reemerging again closer to the shore. He grinned at Cole, who was standing a couple feet back from where the water ended.<p>

_"Aww, come on, Cole! Pretty much everyone else here has gotten their ankles wet digging up fossils! I mean, I can sense all kinds of rare water fossils in here!" _the Plesio beamed, swishing his gold laced fins through the water for emphasis. Cole took another step away from the water, shaking his head.

_"There is no way in _heck_ I'm wrecking my boots just for some stupid Vivosaurs,"_ he replied, a bit of a sneer mixed into it, _"Besides, we don't need another water Vivosaur on our team. We'll get wiped out by some loser with an air Vivo."_

A visible shudder ran over Loch's speckled body, causing him to submerge his neck and splash some of the clear liquid over his back. _"Ugh. Air Vivosaurs. I _hate_ Air Vivosaurs."_

_ "Exactly. Which is why I'm not gonna go in there, and why I'm going to look around on land for something else." _A disappointed sigh left the aquatic reptile's maw, his neck drooping slightly.

_"Fiiiiiiiiine. But I'll stay here while you do that."_

_ "Alright, whatever. But if I need you, you have to come immediately. Don't just float around to spite me. I know how you get about stupid stuff like this."_

Loch snorted, rolling his eyes, but complied nonetheless. Giving him a satisfied nod, Cole turned around and walked a few paces inland before holding up the sonar device he had been handed by the staff member at the entrance to the dig site. As much as he hated its appearance, he knew it was a necessity to find fossils. Unless you were Ryne, who claimed he had some sixth sense for finding the stupid things.

A few frustrated tapping of buttons soon left him standing directly over something. He lowered the device to his side, and began to search the vast dig site for his green haired friend. Finally his eyes rested on said boy, who was playing in the shallower part of the glistening lake with Loch and second Vivosaur, whom he assumed was Sam.

The black skinned reptile etched with green and gold markings stood on two legs, a crest with white diamonds up the front adorning his head. He was obviously altering his own size, seeing as he was a little bit smaller than Loch at the moment, and Paralophs were usually twice a Plesio's size. But that was rather unimportant.

"Ryne! Come here!" Cole shouted to the energetic teen, who turned around and waved at him. He appeared to say something to the two Vivosaurs before pivoting around and dashing over to his older friend.

"What's up?" he grinned, tongue protruding from the corner of his mouth. The black haired teen stepped to the side and pointed at the ground.

"There's a fossil right there. Dig it up so I don't wreck my clothes."

Snickering ensued as Ryne removed the pink, green, and silver pickaxe from his back. He leaned on the tip of the handle for a moment, smirking. "Eh, whatever. I like digging stuff up anyways."

Just as the hazel eyed teen began, a finger prodded Cole in the arm, causing him to turn around and glare at the person who had done so. It was some little girl with her hair in pigtails and a small, frilly yellow dress on. She smiled at him with big, blue eyes.

"I want that fossil you're digging up right now, mister," she grinned, holding up a green and white trimmed Medal. Cole blinked a couple of times, both confused and mildly entertained. "Wanna fight for it?"

Cole scoffed, feeling a bit cocky. "Sure, kid. Just don't be too upset when I beat you, okay?"

"Sure!" the brunette giggled, turning and skipping away from him. Laughing to himself quietly, the hipster turned back towards his Vivosaur, who was currently playing what looked like a form of tag with Sam. Both of them were still in the lake.

A quick shout sent Loch floating over to him, golden eyes holding a bit of grouchiness to them. Still, he flew into position, a smiling gracing his lips at the thought of battle.

The little girl giggled again, tossing her own Dino Medal into the air. In a flash of light, a tan Vivosaur with a dash of green hair and green markings on its back appeared. It held a similar physique to a Paraloph, but was a little bit smaller. Brown eyes stared calmly at their opponent.

Loch gulped, waves of apprehension rolling off of him. He anxiously hovered from side to side, occasionally glancing back at Cole.

_"What are you so freaked out about?"_ the teen asked, holding up his wrist to check the information of their opponent. He soon broke out in sniggers. _"It's a Rank 1 Pacro, and you're scared since it's an air Vivosaur?"_

_ "IT'S AN AIR VIVO. I HATEHATEHATE AIR VIVOS!" _

An amused grin spread across Cole's face. _"Relax! You're Rank 4! This thing's got nothing on you."_

_ "If you're sure…" _The Plesio shook his head, trying his best to clear the paranoia from his head. Focus. Focus.

"Alright, Darting Blur!" His Fighter commanded, pointing at the larger Vivosaur. Loch lowered his head, then shot forward in a zig-zagging manner. Twisting quickly, he nailed the Pacro in the side, almost bowling it over. Cole glanced down at the small bar displaying the tan creature's health. That attack took out about half it.

Skirting away before the Pacro could retaliate, Loch turned slightly to face Cole. He felt a bit relieved to see an approving smile staring back at him.

"Pacro, hit it with Mother's Slap!" the small girl exclaimed, her Vivosaur charging forward as she spoke. A thick arm drew back, charging the blow. Loch tried to twist to the side, but his fear left him a bit sluggish. Long, reddish claws dug into his side and slammed him again the ground.

His huge, blue body bounced away, a large reddish gash in his flank. On the final rebound he flashed back into a golden Medal, landing safely in Cole's hand, who stared at it, shocked.

"Alright, I got it out!" Ryne yelled, holding up the brown rock with pride. The yellow clad girl pranced by Cole, who was still frozen and staring at Loch's Medal, and took the fossil from the teen. He watched the girl leave, groaning slightly. "I dug that stupid thing out just so that someone could come steal it? Great job, man!"

"What the- How did she- Why in the-" Cole's eye twitched slightly, perplexity overcoming him. Loch moaned slightly, pain radiating from him like heat from a fire.

_"I. FREAKING. TOLD. YOU. SO."_ He snarled through gritted teeth, as Cole could picture. Feeling a bit embarrassed, he slipped the Medal into his pocket and turned towards Ryne. Pain began to rush to his side at about the same place Loch had been nailed at, and he rubbed it gingerly with partially gloved hands.

"Well. That was… something," the black haired teen cringed, trying his best to appear to not feel like he had just been punched in the ribs. Ryne broke out in laughter.

"Dude, you're such a wimp! Some little girl just came up and beat the crap out of you!" His laughter turned slightly hysterical after a moment, and he had to lean on his pickaxe for support. Cole felt his cheeks slowly tinting red, so he started glaring at Ryne.

"It was an air Vivosaur, alright? Get off my back!"

"Were you worried she was gonna kick dirt at you or something and wreck your precious clothes?"

"You know what? Dry cleaning is very expensive for this coat! I have a right to be concerned!"

"Suuuuure."

"I'm serious!"

* * *

><p>Once he had recovered from the fight and the entailing embarrassment, Cole had managed to dig up a few fossils. Well, technically Ryne dug them up and he found where they were, but still. They were his.<p>

There had been a few jewel rocks, which were cleaned promptly in order to be sold (and they made very little dust to get on his sleeves), but there were two fossil rocks he had yet to clean. And those would definitely make a bit of a mess.

Standing in front of the cleaning table, the completely green walls and floors of the cleaning room surrounding him, Cole glared at the lump of rock seated on the table. Its filthy appearance mocked him, encasing the stainless white bones inside. He could already hear Loch beginning to make jokes at him.

The robot hovering beside him, blue with a yellow drill sticking out of its head, gestured to the fossil rock with a long arm. It made a few mechanical beeps and whirrs before it spoke.

"Please begin cleaning, sir or madam. You have already wasted twenty seconds just staring at it."

Blue eyes grouchily glanced at the timer. Sure enough, twenty seconds had passed. Growling slightly and awkwardly picking up the hammer, he decided it would be best to begin.

_"You can do it, bro!"_ Loch cheered, apparently deciding he needed to be supportive for once. His golden eyes stared through Cole's, taking in his Fighter's work. It was surprisingly good. Since he didn't want to create a ton of debris that could get all over him, there were very cautious pokes and prods to it that got rid of little scraps of rock from the pearly white fossil, but did not dink it.

Eventually the bones were completely uncovered, and the robot, KL-33N, carefully picked them up in its large, clawed hands and brought them over to the revival machine. It slid the skull into a large slot, watching as light engulfed them and started the revival process.

"Whew! The sleeves are still clean!" Cole grinned, checking over his coat with pride. Not a speck of dirt to his beloved apparel. Loch's squealing ruined his moment.

_"Ooo! Ooo! Ooo! I wonder who we're gonna get as a buddy! Maybe a Raja? I heard there were lots of Rajas at Treasure Lake from Sam!"_ the Plesio chattered, his excitement evident. His Fighter couldn't help but feel a bit enthralled in the moment as well. This was the first Vivosaur he ever revived, after all.

A quadrupedal shape began to form within the machine, and large spikes shot out of its sides. A long, wicked looking tail sprouted, the club on the end waving back and forth menacingly. Color splashed over its figure, giving it purple skin, and all the spikes and armored lumps coating it turned a brilliant ruby red. Black eyes with small, luminescent yellow pupils scowled powerfully.

_"Gall… Who the heck are you losers?" _a gravelly, yet feminine voice snapped. The sturdily built Vivosaur stood at about Cole's waist, yet her body stretched out around 11 feet in length. Thick legs with sharp, red claws suspended her off the ground.

_"OH HECK NO!" _Loch shouted, his Medal beginning to flop around in Cole's pocket. _"YOU REVIVED A FREAKING AIR VIVOSAUR!"_

"Your 98 point head seems to have revived a Goyle," KL-33N buzzed, a clawed hand extended towards the grouchy VIvosaurs image. She snorted and rolled her eyes, seemingly annoyed. "I believe you have a matching body for it seated in your case."

_"NO! DON'T DO IT, COLE! WE CAN GO BACK AND FIND A RAJA!"_

_ "There is no way I'm going digging there again! Ryne already said he isn't going to help anymore, so we're stuck with her!" _Cole responded mentally, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to prevent the headache he could feel coming on from Loch's screaming.

_"Stuck with _me_?"_ the Goyle growled, her long tail lashing angrily, _"If anything, _I'm_ stuck with you two losers! I'd rather be_ _with an earth Vivosaur than that sniveling little fish!"_

_ "I AM NOT A FISH! FISH HAVE FREAKING GILLS!"_

_ "Oh excuse me, _mouth-breather_!"_

_ "Cole! Make the mean lady take it back!"_

_ "Alright, that's it! I'm done with this!"_

Loch soon found his Medal sitting on the cleaning table, clinking around as he flipped it about. Cole walked over to the revival machine, removed the green and white rimmed Medal from it, and placed it next to Loch's.

"Learn to get along with her, Loch! The same goes for you, uh…" the teen awkwardly stared at the Goyle's Medal, mentally flipping through a list of names. It wasn't going too well. Nothing really stuck since she was so burly and gruff. So, he decided to take a simpler route. "How about Ruby?"

_"Eh,"_ she grunted, and Cole felt her roll her eyes at him. But there was no complaint. He grinned, satisfied with his work.

"Good. So, you two deal with each other, and I'll clean this fossil. That way we're all doing things we hate."

So, as the whir and clang of drills and hammers filled the air, the two Vivosaurs stared each other down in their mental territory.

_"Mouth-breather."_

_ "Plant-muncher."_

* * *

><p>Burgundy claws sank into surprisingly moist earth as Ruby flexed them, her expression softening from a scowl to a frown. She took a few steps forward, testing out her stocky legs gradually. Ominous pupils glanced back at Cole.<p>

_"What exactly are we doing here?"_ she grumbled, scraping at the ground impatiently. Her eyes stared at the uprooted grass, finding it rather interesting for one reason or another.

_"I thought you'd like to walk around a bit before we got in a fight. You know, regain your bearings," _Cole shrugged, his gaze drifting off to the side. It was suddenly occurring to him that he hadn't seen Ryne in quite a while. Normally it would seem trivial to worry about your friend's whereabouts, but this was Ryne. You just cannot leave him alone. Things go wrong.

An annoyed 'humph', followed by the Goyle's tail shaking back and forth threateningly. _"I don't need any time to prepare. Especially if it's for some weirdo like yourself."_

_ "If anyone's weird, it sure as heck isn't me. Stylish, yes. Weird, no,"_ the teen smirked, patting the purple-skinned Vivosaur on the head. She snarled, snapping at his hand. Cole yelped, withdrawing it and holding it in the other as though she had actually bit him. Which she had not.

_"Don't touch me, fancy pants." _Her tail loomed intimidatingly over his head. _"And I mean it."_

"Alright, I get it, sheesh," Cole remarked aloud, hands held in front of him defensively. Taking a few steps away from the Goyle for emphasis, he turned around and rested his hands on the wooden fencing surrounding the small meadow. He squinted as he searched over the dig site. "Just out of curiosity, do you see Ryne anywhere?"

_"I haven't met a 'Ryne' yet. But if he's anything like you, I'm glad."_

"Oh yeah."

_"Well, unless he has weird green hair. 'Cause then he's over there."_ A spikey tail swished to the side, pointing at a section of land that extended out into the water almost randomly. Sure enough, there was Ryne, talking with some random stranger. Apparently he never learned about stranger danger when he was younger.

Cole groaned while slumping his shoulders. Time to go make sure nothing was going wrong. He began to trudge down the hill, only to stop when a piece of cold metal flicked him on the back of the head.

_"Don't forget me, you idiot," _Ruby growled, her Medal landing in his hand. Despite all the negative emotions radiating off of her, the teen couldn't help but grin. She had not wanted to be left behind. That had to mean something

Slipping the chilling Dino Medal into his pocket, Cole continued his slow trek over to Ryne. As he got closer, it became obvious his excitable friend was not in another one of his random chats with strangers. He was arguing with some person he didn't know. Even better.

_"Think we should get Loch first?"_ the black haired teen inquired, getting nothing more than a grouchy grunt in response. He shrugged, taking it as an excuse to avoid dealing with Ryne longer, and veered off towards the lake.

There was Loch, shooting around in the water again. He was creating quite the wake, the ripples large enough to knock the occasional wading Fighter over. Cole couldn't help but snicker.

A slim neck emerged from the water a few yards away. The Plesio was coming up for a breath. Time to get his attention.

_"OI! MOUTH-BREATHER!" _Ruby shouted before her Fighter could say anything. The speckled Vivosaur's head swiveled in their direction, a glower in his golden eyes. With a high-pitched snarl, he strode through his aquatic paradise and over to Cole.

_ "I see you brought Ruby,"_ Loch stated flatly before flashing into a Medal. The metal circle containing him was placed in the Ruby-less pocket. Better safe than sorry.

"Deal with it."

A childish whine filled Cole's head, but was ignored. He had more important things to deal with. Well, technically it was only Ryne, but keeping him under supervision was more of a public service.

He managed to take one step before a large, black and green body was flung past him and into the water. Droplets of the shimmering liquid went everywhere as the Paraloph began to get up, only to collapse in a flash of water. He was resting, since he had yet to return to his Medal.

A blur of blue and green shot past Cole and over to the panting Air Vivosaur. "Sam! You okay?" Ryne asked as he nudged the striped Vivosaur's large head. A deep exhalation sputtered water over the green haired teen's face.

"Ryne, what did you do?" A nervous laugh answered Cole's question.

"Well, there was this girl with a Jara, and I thought it'd be fun to have a Fossil Battle, and-"

Red coated in stony grey armor splashed through the water, a roar bellowing from its throat. The thickset Vivosaur hurtled at Sam, massive jaws clamping around the back of his neck. Twisting his spine, the crested Vivosaur gave two sharp blows to the behemoth's neck with green fists, forcing it to release him. Staggering away, Sam shook his head, the cloudiness in his brain fading as the cold water licked at his shanks.

Smirking slightly, the armored Vivosaur charged Sam, killer jaws snapping shut around a toned arm. As the smaller reptile began trying to free his appendage, the carnivore yanked on it, pulling the Paraloph off-balance and over its bulky head. Slamming into ribs, the theropod launched Sam with ease, its posture showing the lack of effort the attack had taken.

With a cry of pain, the Paraloph glinted into a circle of gold, twirling in the air briefly. Ryne held out his hand, the Medal plopping into his glove. The attacking Vivosaur, which Cole recognized as a Daspleto, boomed victoriously as its open maw displayed the sharp, pearly fangs curving out of its gums. It seemed much too beastly for anyone to have at this point in the Cup.

The green haired teen near the Vivosaur waded inland, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, she didn't use her Jara."

_"Man, that thing's insane," _Loch gasped, eyes wide. His Dino Medal trembled ever-so-slightly. _"Hope we don't end up fighting him and whoever his Fighter is in the first round. That would be horrifying."_

_ "Just looking at it is horrifying enough. I mean, that shade of red and grey really aren't doing much for it,"_ his Fighter quipped, smirking slightly. _"But in all seriousness, where the heck did they get it at?"_

A small figure, easily dwarfed by the sturdy Daspleto, strolled up beside it and grinned, holding out a hand for its circular storage unit. Terracotta eyes acknowledged the person, and in a flash it had disappeared. The Vivosaur's Fighter then began to head over towards the two males, probably coming over to gloat about their victory.

Cole already felt like gagging just by looking at her. The girl, probably around 15, was dressed in a black shirt with pink hearts across the front of it, and a white blouse underneath. A skirt, which had probably been frilled out at one point, drooped down over bell bottom jeans. Not to mention the weird tan Pterosaur shrunken down enough to perch atop her head. The streaks of colors suggested this was the Jara Ryne had been speaking of.

"Alright, guess you aren't such a lame Fighter after all," Ryne grumbled, casting a slightly sour look in the girl's direction. She smirked, partially lidded green-blue eyes gleaming with confidence.

"And you're, like, just as bad as I thought you'd be, maaan," the redhead simpered, fingers reaching up to push some locks back that her Jara had tugged out of her ponytail. Said Pterosaur broke out in trilling snickers similar to Loch's, but with a bit more of a bird-ish tune to them. The girl's bottle green gaze drifted over to Cole. "This guy, like, as much of a drag as you?"

The black haired teen grinned smugly, eyes rolling behind tinted lenses. "Me? A drag? Please, everyone _wishes_ they were me."

The girl smiled, amused by his response. Her Jara groaned, smacking a front foot to the upper part of its beak. Big, purple-y pink orbs glared up at him from the reptile.

"Sounds groooovy, man. I'm Lola, by the way," the redhead giggled, taking a step closer to Cole. He felt a bit awkward at that point, mostly because he was quite a bit taller than her. She did not seem to mind, though. Her fingers pointed up at her furry lizard. "She's Jazz. Well, technically Jasmine. She'll, like, proooobably hurt you if you call her Jazz."

"Good to know," Cole nodded, the scowl from said Jara filling him with uneasiness. She _really_ did not like him. "Oh, and I'm Cole."

"And I'm Ryne!" the hazel eyed teen butted in, grinning as he noticed Jasmine seemed to approve of him. Lola, on the other hand, appeared to have switched roles with her Jara.

Blue-green eyes brightened when she turned back to Cole. "So, were you, like, toootally blown away by Arden? He's, like, preeeeetty wicked when he gets goin'."

"Yeah, he's tough," the teen shrugged, confident as ever. Since the Cup had just started, she probably only had her Daspleto and Jara. Sure, Daspleto was a beast, but the chances of them getting pinned against each other already was pretty slim.

_"Tough doesn't even begin to describe him..." _Loch gulped, body trembling slightly. Even tough-as-nails Ruby seemed to be a bit shaken up, though she would never let on to it. Their Fighter broke out in snickers. _"YOU KNOW WHAT, COLE?! THE LAST TIME YOU MADE FUN OF ME BEING CAUTIOUS, I GOT MY BUTT WHOOPED!"_

_"Alright, sheesh! Calm down!"_

Ryne scoffed, drawing attention back to himself. "He's alright. Sam just had helicopter lag." Questioning expressions made him flinch. "That's a thing!"

"I, like, _hate_ helicopters, but I know that's not a thing," Lola replied, cringing at the thought. "They're, like, nothing like boats. Which are, like, aaall I'm used to."

A friendly grin twitched over Cole's lips. "Oh, you only used to the boats at Vivosaur Island, too?" She nodded, appearing a bit embarrassed.

"Yeeeaaah..." Feet shifted awkwardly. "I, like, practically lived on them. My dad's, like, the main captain..."

Suddenly, and with a rather excessive amount of force, Jasmine bristled and snapped her beak open, releasing an ear piercing shriek. Right in Cole's face. He yelped and covered his ears, head ringing. Even his two Vivosaurs found themselves a bit disoriented.

Lola giggled, patting the pterosaur's flank. She trilled gleefully, fluffing out and returning to her snuggled up position. Her victim could only stand there, dazed beyond belief, and rub his head in a dopey manner.

The redhead glanced at him apologetically. "Aaanyways, guess I should, like, head up to the Fossil Station. Maybe I'll, like, see you around, maaaan."

Faintly, an uncomfortable smile was sent back from the hipster. "Sure. Then maybe I can give you some style tips."

The smaller teen gave him a weird look, almost as if an inquiry was forming in her head, then shrugged. Giving him one last grin, she sauntered past them, Jasmine scowling at him the entire time. Cole felt a shudder run through his body once they were out of view.

"Man, that was weird," the black haired teen stated, turning towards Ryne. He nodded in agreement, a frustrated scowl etching across his countenance.

"We've gotta beat her in the Cup! She humiliated poor Sam!"

"Eh, she's alright, even if her outfit was just... Ugh. But I wouldn't mind doing something to that stupid Jara."

The two nodded simultaneously, confirming their plan. Ryne put his hand up for a high-five, which Cole stared at for a moment, then tapped lightly as to avoid getting any dirt on himself. At about that time, the obnoxious beeping of Paleopagers filled the air. Groaning, the black haired teen fished his out of his coat pocket. There it was, still as hideous as ever.

_"The Round 1 Battles will begin five days from now-"_

_ "Crap, what are we gonna do for that long, bro?" _Loch interrupted, only to be shushed by Ruby. He grumbled something about 'plant-munchers', but fell silent.

_"-Cole's Round 1 opponent will be Ryne. Fighters are encouraged to prepare themselves in the meantime, then check into the Fossil Station when it's time for the battles."_

Gradually blue eyes met hazel as the two friends stared awkwardly at each other in silence. Ryne was the first to say something, his figure beginning to look very irritated.

"Well this blows. Here I thought we'd be the two guys duking it out in the Finals, but no, Round 1." A bit of a 'humph' finished his statement. Cole sighed, mildly annoyed.

"I would've rather beat you in the Finals, too. At least you don't look half-bad. There's no telling what unstylish loser could end up fighting me now."

A couple of startled blinks. "Hold on, what makes you think _you're_ gonna beat me!?"

Scoffing. "Because I'm a _way_ better Fossil Fighter than you, bro. In looks _and_ in talent."

"We'll see about that! I'll beat that fish of yours into shredded tuna!"

Competitive glares were exchanged before the two began to walk away from each other. Cole found himself snickering, though, as Loch began to blow up about not being a fish again. And Ruby just chuckled. His laughter slowly became more and more pathetic as he listened to his Vivosaurs.

How the heck was he supposed to beat Ryne with two Vivosaurs who hated each other's guts?

* * *

><p><strong>Alright! I did it! I finished this chapter in a slightly timely manner! Hooray!<strong>

**I hope this was good enough for you guys. X3 And I hope you liked Ruby. Not sure how many people actually like Goyle, though. I mean, I love Goyle, but that's just me. Oh, and also Lola. Really hoping I did her and Jasmine adequately... I guess, let me know. XD**

**Well, if things keep going well, maybe I can get the next chapter up soon. We shall see. Until then, hope you enjoyed this!**


	4. Rooms and Hippies

**Well, I gotta say, still impressed that you guys are reading this. And that this has reached 100 views. This is so fun. XD**

**Alright, don't own Fossil Fighters, so let's keep moving.**

* * *

><p>Tired legs slowly trekked up a tall, curving flight of stairs. Of course he had gotten a room on the top floor when the elevators were for the staff and handicapped Fighters only. He had used up most of his good luck on his looks, anyways. This was to be expected.<p>

A black boot finally hit the last step, leaving him at his destination. Cole almost cheered. Leaning against the red wall to recover from his journey, the hipster pulled the room key he had picked up at the front desk and checked the number. 59.

"_Dude, I can literally see the door from here," _Loch sighed, rolling his eyes. Sure enough, about ten feet away a door with a large '59' painted on it sat in the wall. _"Just head over there already."_

"_But I'm too tired…"_

"_Seriously, you whiny loser, just get your butt moving,"_ Ruby snorted, a threatening emotion pouring off of her. Not wanting to deal with his grumpy Goyle, the teen sighed and began to trudge towards the door. The key went in the lock, the doorknob was turned, and Cole slipped in.

The room itself was pleasant enough. The walls were a pale green, the occasional darker green stripe slashing through its paint. There were two beds with nightstands beside them, though the one furthest away from the door had assorted articles of rather unstylish clothing splayed across it.

Cole frowned at the taken bed. It seemed he had a roommate. How lovely. Turning away, blue eyes landed on his forgotten bags. He let out a relieved breath. At least his dad had managed to do something right for once.

Taking a moment to yawn, the teen sluggishly set to work getting ready for bed. His coat pockets were emptied out on the nightstand, followed by him taking a hanger from one of his many packs. He then unzipped his prized coat gingerly, carefully sliding it off and placing it on the hanger. Now to find somewhere to put it…

Eventually it ended up dangling off the edge of his bed's backboard, where it looked as though it would fall at any moment. Which he prayed it would not, lest it be wrinkled when morning came. All movements after that were incredibly cautious as to avoid jostling it in any way.

After making to the bathroom without the coat falling, the next hour was spent taking a shower and brushing his teeth. His hair needed to be perfect in a messy way, after all. Not to mention the importance of sparkly clean teeth.

He returned, feeling even drowsier than earlier, to the sound of Ruby and Loch yelling at each other again. Without a moment of hesitation, Cole slid a drawer on the nightstand over and knocked the pair into it. Once it was shut, there was pure silence. Blissful, amazing silence. And his roommate still was not there. Even better.

With a yawn, the black haired teen pulled back dark green sheets and climbed in, curling up contently beneath them. Serenity filled his entire being as he began to drift off to sleep.

"COLE! OPEN THE DOOR!"

Blue eyes shot open as the teen jumped slightly from the yelling and pounding on his door. Grumbling to himself, Cole slid out of bed and sluggishly made his way to the door. Eventually he found the doorknob, since he was not in the mood for turning the light back on, twisted it, and pulled. Ryne dove in past him and slammed the door, panting.

"Thanks, man," the younger teen grinned, his breathing evening out. He reached over and flipped the light on, much to Cole's chagrin. "That crazy Jara was gonna murder me, I swear."

A raised eye. "Crazy Jara? You mean that one girl's from earlier?"

"Yep. That's the one."

"Why was she chasing you in the first place?"

Tittering escaped Ryne's mouth as he began to rock back and forth on his heels. "Well, it's kind of a long story, so the short version is what's-her-face and I are roommates, and apparently some people find it rude if you brush your teeth while they're in the shower."

Cole stared at him for a moment before breaking out in full-blown laughter. At that point he was much too tired to suppress it. Ryne glared at him, cheeks tinting slightly.

"What the heck is wrong with you?" the hipster grinned once he had calmed down a bit. The green haired boy rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, gaze moving to the floor.

"I've never shared a room with a girl before, this is weird!" More snickering. "I don't have a sister like you, alright!"

"Yeah, I gotcha," Cole smirked, patting his friend on the back. Still feeling spiteful, Ryne shoved him lightly, then returned to the locked door. He cautiously slid it open and peeked out, sighing with relief.

Hazel eyes glanced back at the black haired teen. "Okay, I think she's gone. Guess I should try to sneak back in now."

A teasing grin was shot back. "Good luck with that. Hope you don't get too badly beaten up."

"Pft. She can try, but it ain't happening."

* * *

><p>Morning came faster than expected. Loch had somehow gotten out of the drawer, and was hovering around the room doing various things, including waking his Fighter up. Which seemed like a better idea in theory.<p>

"_C'mon, Cole! I'm boooooooored! And hungry! We gotta go get me a snack and do something fun!" _ the Plesio whined, nosing at Cole's curled up figure. Tired eyes creaked open and glanced over at the Vivosaur touching him.

"_Loch, I will put you back in that freaking drawer if you don't let me sleep,"_ he threatened, eyes squeezing shut as he turned and buried his face in his pillow. Loch trill-giggled, amusement spreading across his countenance.

"_Aww! Did somebody not sweep well aftewr being away fwom mommy?" _the speckled Vivosaur teased, his voice condescending and high-pitched. A pillow slapped across his face, leaving him shaking his elongated neck to regain his senses.

His Fighter was now sitting up, glaring at him. Loch giggled and floated over beside the bed, leaning over and picking up Cole's red glasses from the nightstand. Shoving his snout in the black haired teen's face, he put the glasses on him and hovered away to admire his handiwork.

Cole grumbled something under his breath and adjusted the frames. A quick look was cast in the direction of his coat. It was still hanging. He exhaled, relieved, and slid out of bed.

Loch's body shrank back down to a Medal, which landed on the wooden nightstand. _"Your roommate was here this morning. Around five, I think. Or at least, that was when I saw him leave."_

"_Guess he's a night owl, or something,"_ the hipster muttered as he finished putting his shirt on. Gingerly removing his coat from its hanger, he slipped into it and zipped it up slowly. _"Did you see what he looked like?"_

The feeling of Loch shaking his head 'no' passed through his mind. _"Not really. It was dark, I was in my Medal. He's definitely shorter than you, though."_

Smirking, Cole sat down on his bed and pulled his long, lace-up boots on. _"Who isn't? I mean, I'll probably be taller than mom when we get back."_

"_True, true. I think your dad'll still be beating you, though."_

"_He's an outlier, bro. You can't count someone like him in this."_

"_Yeah, but he's your family, and I thought that's what this was about."_

"_Well, you thought wrong."_

With his boots finally tied up, the teen rose to his feet and popped into the bathroom, checking his hair briefly in the mirror. A few places were mussed up before he stepped back and took in the reflection, grinning.

"Yep. Still as handsome and stylish as ever," Cole stated aloud to no one in particular. However, the trill filling his head seemed to have taken it differently.

"_Aww, thanks, bro."_

"_Shut up, Loch. I wasn't talking about you."_

"_Sure you were. In your heart."_

Groaning at Loch's statement, the teen exited the room and returned to the drawer Ruby was still in. Her cold Medal and Loch's damp one were placed in separate pockets, for safety precautions. The Goyle grunted slightly upon being moved, but stayed silent.

Seeing as there were four days left until the first Round of the Cup, it seemed that it would be a good idea to figure out some things involving digging up fossils. Since Cole didn't own a pickax and had no intentions of purchasing one, he had to come up with another way to unearth stuff. The original plan had been Ryne, but since he was bailing on them…

"_You want me to do what?"_ Ruby growled, tail lashing as she glared up at the hipster. He sighed and pointed at the ground again.

"_Come on, Ruby! The ground's soft, and you've got long claws. Can't you just-"_Cole began, only to be interrupted by a sharp snarl. Burgundy nails sunk into earth as the herbivore took on an aggressive pose.

"_I ain't a dang mole! There's no way in heck I'm gonna do this!"_ she rumbled, stomping a front foot for emphasis. Her Fighter took a precautious step back, smiling nervously.

"_W-well, if you help me out with this, we might get some Vivosaurs you like more than Loch and I, and-" _Another growl interrupted.

Ominous pupils stared at the spot she had been asked to dig in, then up at Cole, then back at the spot. An exasperated groan left her beak-like mouth and her claws began ripping away at the earth.

Surprised, both Loch and Cole gaped at the purple-skinned quadruped as she rapidly dug down to the rock they were searching for. Nails hooked its edge and yanked it out, sending it tumbling away and into a patch of grass.

A brief glower was sent to the hipster. _"Just remember, this isn't me saying I like you, this is me saying I hate you so much I'll help you find me people I can stand."_

"_I think I can live with that,"_ Cole replied, picking up the rock as to touch it the minimal amount possible, and placing it on Ruby's back. A brief snarl rumbled through her body, but she allowed the fossil to stay.

A few more fossils were excavated in this manner before the dysfunctional trio headed back to the Fossil Station. Apparently they had a knack for finding jewel rocks, since only one of the rocks had contained a fossil. And it was a Goyle body. Go figure. Then, after all that, they would go sell the jewels and head back out, only for the same thing to happen. Except the Goyle part would vary.

Eventually Cole decided that he was only meant to have Ruby from Treasure Lake and that was that. Sure, other Fighters he had seen already had a full team from that dig site alone, but at the moment he was content. Well, as content as you could be with two Vivosaurs who constantly were at each other's throats.

The days seemed to pass by at a grueling rate. He hadn't seen Ryne since he had barged into his room. As much as he did not want to admit it, life was very boring without the energetic teen around. At least, when there were five days meant to be filled with fossil digging and strategy discussing, and he had finished both of those on the first.

So, at about noon on the day before the Round 1 battles, Cole found himself sitting on a random bench staring at people running by from time to time, the occasional Vivosaur in tow, making comments their outfits. It wasn't the most enjoyable activity, since apparently no one was fashionable on the Islands (other than him, of course), but it passed time.

Disgusted blue eyes skimmed the crowd, too busy to notice the quadruped climbing up the back of the bench. A finger tapped his shoulder, and the hipster turned to see big, fuchsia orbs. And a sharp beak open up-

A high-pitched shriek ripped through the air, followed by Cole recoiling and slipping off the bench. A Jara perched, grinning wickedly, atop the wooden seat. Malevolence was reflected in her eyes.

"Heeey, Jazz. I was wonderin' where you ran off to." An innocent trill responded to the statement as the pterosaur's Fighter walked up. The redhead ran a hand over black and tan markings, her gaze drifting from the purring Jara to the teen lying on the ground, rubbing his head. Bottle green eyes lit up. "Oh, didn't, like, see you down there, maaaan. Cole, right?"

Sitting up and frantically brushing his dirtied coat off, the hipster cast a glare at Jasmine, who chirruped spitefully. Cole spent a few more moments ensuring that all the dust was off of his apparel before answering.

"Yep, I'm Cole," he smiled, trying to be friendly despite having just been assaulted by her Jara. Said Vivosaur snorted, fur bristling slightly. "And you're… uh… Lu… lu?" The response was unsure, and his voice cracked at the end.

Light sniggering. "Actually, it's Lola. Buuuuuut I'll, like, let it slide this time," she replied, mildly amused. Her hands rested on the edge of the bench, and she leaned in towards him. "So, how's stuff been, like, going for you, man?"

"Alright, I guess," the older teen shrugged, hands slipping into his coat pockets. "I've only got two Vivos for Round 1, though. Not sure if that'll be a problem…"

"I'm sure you'll do, like, totally grooooovy," Lola assured, languid eyes reflecting sincerity. Cole, though mildly surprised, felt his worry fade a small fraction. He had heard similar messages from Loch, but she seemed like a less biased source.

Uneasiness shifted to cockiness. "I mean, of course I'll do well! Ryne's got nothing on me, and his Paraloph's not nearly as stylish as Loch!" A trill from Loch signified he approved of the statement.

Jasmine rolled her eyes, annoyed clicks exiting her beak. Her Fighter was silent for a moment, expression incredulous. Still, the redhead forced herself to smile.

"Yeeeaaah, Ryne's really got, like, nothing going for him anyways," Lola smirked, a certain amount of bitterness in her tone which still allowed her to sound happy. Cole blinked a couple of times, taken aback. That is, until he remembered whose roommate she was.

The blue eyed teen snickered, completely understanding the comment. "So, Ryne's a little too much for you to handle, eh?"

"He's, like, a little too much for anyone to handle. How do you, like, not go craaaazy, man?" Blue-green eyes changed from calm to mildly frantic, making Cole laugh a bit more. A nip from the watchful Jara left him reeling back, yelping.

Taking a moment to recompose himself, Cole shrugged, trying to come off nonchalant. "You get used to him," he replied. "I've known him for a while, so it's really not that bad for me anymore."

"_Unless there's dirt involved," _Loch chimed in, a snigger in the back of his throat, _"Then all hell breaks loose."_

"_I never specified what that bit was."_

"_That doesn't make it any less true."_

Lola scoffed, glancing to the side. "Well it's, like, tooootally not groovy for me right now." Fingers twitched slightly, irritated. "His Paraloph keeps, like, sleeping on my bed. Arden's gettin' tired of throwing him off."

The image of the black and green Vivosaur flipping through the air flashed through Cole's mind, and he shivered slightly. Lola seemed to like talking about her Daspleto, sort of like how he enjoyed bragging about Loch. Then again, most Fighters had one Vivosaur they were especially proud of.

"Your Daspleto's pretty tough, I'm sure he can handle it," the hipster replied, his suspicions confirmed when her eyes lit up just a bit. He now had her attention. "Sure, he's a bit of an eyesore, but I wouldn't mind having a solid AZ Vivosaur. Where'd you dig him up?"

"I didn't, like, dig him up anywhere, "she giggled, a bit of a devious expression twitching across her face. "Ever heard of Donation Points? You, like, use them to buy Daspleto parts. There're other Vivos, too, though. It's totally wicked, man."

"Sounds like it," Cole replied, intrigued. He could remember the Donation Points system from Vivosaur Island if he thought about it long enough. But, if said memories were correct, that required a _lot_ of fossil cleaning. And since fossil cleaning meant a lot of fossil digging, the thought of obtaining a Daspleto was tossed out immediately.

A slightly awkward silence settled once the two began to realize they had nothing more to talk about. Jasmine glanced at both of them, beaming after taking note of the situation. With a satisfied trill, she jumped from the bench and to her Fighter's shoulder. Seconds later she was settled down amongst reddish-orange hair, a puff of tan, black, and turquoise.

Lola grinned indolently and patted her fluffy pterosaur's crest. "Guess that means you're ready to go, huh?" A yawn, followed by the lidding of her eyes as drowsiness settled in on the quadruped. She was now the spitting image of a stereotypical Jara; tired eyes, probably uncoordinated as a flyer, hunched up- all because she was tired.

"She's cath-e-meral, or something like that," Lola explained after noticing the surprised look Cole was giving her. "It, like, means she's awake at toooootally random times."

"_So that's why Jaras usually look stoned during Fossil Battles…" _a certain speckled Vivosaur mused. Ruby smacked a clawed foot to her face, groaning.

As much as Cole tried to ignore his Vivosaurs, he found himself sniggering slightly. "Well, you've got places to be, I've got places to be-"his snickers broke out again as Loch began talking about assorted Vivosaurs that usually looked 'derpy'. "-so I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Sure!"

Blue eyes skimmed over Lola's outfit as she headed towards the Fighter Station. Much to his surprise, it wasn't as hideous as he had remembered. He must have gotten used to it.

"_You're an idiot,"_ Ruby stated bluntly, ominous yellow pupils rolling. _"Why does her outfit matter so much to you?"_

"_I'm into fashion, what's wrong with that?"_

"_Makes you look shallow, is all."_

"_Shallow?"_

"_Yeah. Shallow."_

* * *

><p>Enthralled shouts, ecstatic chattering, and the constant thumping of assorted footwear hitting hitting metal floors filled the air. Cole grumbled to himself about the noise as he sat on a bench in the Common Room. He and Ryne were up to battle next, according to the schedule, but his green haired friend was nowhere in sight.<p>

Loch chittered excitedly, Medal flipping around within his Fighter's pocket. Ruby was less energetic, snorting occasionally to remind the speckled reptile that she was there. They were quite odd to listen to, to say the least.

The door to the Fossil Stadium slid open, and the two Fighters who had just finished up came in. One was a boy with messy blond hair who was probably around Ryne's age, the other a little girl with brown hair in pigtails that seemed oddly familiar. A hiss from Loch quickly identified her.

"_FREAKING PACRO GIRL!"_ the Plesio shrieked, writhing around uncomfortably. Ruby chuckled lightly, a small grin twitching on her beak-like snout.

"_Relax, she probably_ _got eliminated just now,"_ Cole smirked, leaning back in his seat. His smugness faded as the blond hung his head and sulked away, the little girl grinning wickedly in his wake. A shudder ran down his spine. _"Man I hope we don't end up fighting her."_

A whimper from Loch. _"She scares me…"_

"_Ah, suck it up you dang wussies," _Ruby spat, tail lashing aggressively. _"She's just a little kid. Ain't that scary, really."_

"_You weren't there when the whole Pacro thing went down. So shut your mouth,"_ the aquatic Vivosaur seethed, a snarl sent at the purple-skinned herbivore. She growled back, body lowering into a hostile stance.

A sharp ding filled the air. _"Our next competitors will be Cole Sukaru and Ryne Reilly. These Fighters need to come to the Fossil Stadium immediately. Thank you!"_

"_Well crap. Where the heck is Ryne?" _Blue eyes scanned through the Fighters in the Common Room. No green hair. Oh boy.

"_Just head in, maybe he'll pop in at the last second. You know how Ryne is," _Loch suggested, his anger towards Ruby vanishing in an instant. Cole sighed, unable to think of anything better to do, and rose up to his feet. Boots clunked against the floor as he headed out the automatic door and into the glaring sunlight.

The stadium itself was huge – probably to accompany sauropods when they were used. As for the flooring, it was completely sand from wall to wall. Probably for cushioning once a Vivosaur was thrown.

And, of course, there was still no sign of Ryne.

Hands were anxiously shoved into pockets as Cole stood awkwardly on one side of the arena. He had planned on actually fighting with Ryne, not winning by default. Eyes continuously flicked back to the door, silently begging for someone to charge out.

"_It seems we have a no-show, folks!" _one of the commentators announced. Probably the triceratops one, judging by the higher pitched voice. The male on the field cringed, feet shifting uncomfortably.

"_Right you are, Trip," _the second one chimed in, voice a bit deeper, but not by much. _"It would seem that Cole wins by defau-"_

"Hold on!" Boots clumsily maneuvered through sand as none other than Ryne stumbled through the automatic door, his usually goofy grin plastered to his face. Cole eased up, relieved to see him, even if he would not admit it.

"Sorry about that, bro!" the green haired teen laughed once he had reached his position on the arena. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I couldn't find my Dino Medals anywhere!"

"_How does one 'lose' a Dino Medal?" _Loch giggled, excited to begin. The circular object containing him quivered energetically.

A teasing smirk from his Fighter. "Sure, Ryne! I bet you weren't worried at all about fighting someone as slick as me!"

Hazel eyes rolled, but he was smiling nonetheless. The younger teen drew two green-trimmed Dino Medals, their golden surfaces flashing in the midday sun. Loch and Ruby's were soon pulled out, each of them a mess of various emotions.

Then, with the flicks of wrists and glimmering of metal, four creatures roared into existence.

* * *

><p><strong>Okie, finally got this done. Sorry it's a little bit late and a little bit short, but I'm sure you all can forgive me. X3<strong>

**Anyways, I'm hoping to keep this as close to weekly updates as I can get, but we'll see. I just got the Manga for Fossil Fighters: Frontier, so I'm going to be checking that out for a while. I'm so hyped. XD**

**Well, I'm hoping you all enjoyed this chapter. It's not my best work, I know, but I've had stuff going on. I hope you'll all keep reading, though! Stay tuned, because I write battles a heck of a lot better than this!**


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